KITCHEN DELIGHTS

BY SEAN VARONE

Catching Triple Tail on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts can be an exciting and rewarding experience! Here’s a guide to help you in your pursuit:

Know the Triple Tail: Triple Tail are distinctive fish that often float near the surface, mimicking debris or structure such as buoys, weed lines, or floating objects. They have a flat, triangular-shaped body and can grow quite large. Understanding their behavior and habitat will increase your chances of success.

Season and Timing: Triple Tail are generally present in the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast regions from spring through fall, with peak activity during the warmer months. They prefer water temperatures between 70°F and 85°F. Early morning and late afternoon are often productive times to target them.

Locations and Structure: Look for Triple Tail near structure, such as buoys, channel markers, crab trap floats, weed lines, and floating debris. They often gather around these areas, seeking shelter and hunting for food. Focus your efforts near the mouth of bays, inshore channels, passes, and barrier islands.

15705 Juniper Street N - Foley, Alabama 36535 251-943-0330 www.momentummarine-rv.com

Tackle and Bait: Medium to heavy spinning or baitcasting tackle is recommended, depending on the size of the Triple Tail you’re targeting. Use a 7 to 8-foot rod with a medium-heavy to heavy power rating and pair it with a reel that can handle 20 to 40-pound test line. Fluorocarbon leaders in the 20 to 40-pound range are also essential due to Triple Tail’s sharp gill plates.

Live Bait and Lures: Triple Tail can be caught using live bait such as shrimp, crabs, or small baitfish. Present the bait near the fish or structure, allowing it to drift naturally. If using lures, try using small jigs, soft plastics, or topwater plugs. Bright colors or those that resemble small fish or shrimp are effective choices.

Techniques: When you spot a Triple Tail near structure, approach slowly and quietly. Cast your bait or lure beyond the fish, allowing it to drift naturally towards the fish’s line of sight. Maintain a distance that won’t spook the fish, as they can be sensitive to noise and excessive boat movement. Once the Triple Tail strikes, set the hook firmly and be prepared for a strong fight.

Regulations and Limits: Ensure you familiarize yourself with the fishing regulations and catch limits for Triple Tail in the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast regions. Regulations can change, so always check for the most up-to-date information to stay in compliance with local rules and regulations.

Remember to practice responsible angling by releasing undersized or excess fish and respecting the marine environment. Enjoy your time on the water and good luck in your pursuit of Triple Tail! We sure did thanks to Nathan Rich of Mobile, Alabama! He caught a beautiful specimen and gifted it to me for this amazing recipe!!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup softened butter

2 lbs tripletail, cut into serving sized portions

2 tbsp mild Cajun seasoning, such as Rouse’s Cajun blend

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup key lime juice

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

12 slices of lime

8 slices of orange (your fruit slice needs may vary)

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Lightly butter 9x13 inch glass baking dish, set aside

3. Dr y filets and season with Cajun seasoning blend and a little bit of kosher salt. Then place seasoned filets into buttered baking dish

4. Place 1/2 tablespoon or so of butter on top of each piece of fish. We used too much butter the first time we made this, which took away some of the beautiful tartness of the fresh citrus. If your fish servings seem to need more butter due to their size, 1 tbsp should be okay.

5. Pour lemon, lime, and orange juices into baking dish and cover fish with citrus slices

6. Bake in 325 degree oven until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. (Start checking your fish at the 20-25 min mark)

7. Serve this summery baked fish over pasta or quinoa. Grits would be great too!

(The citrus butter left in the dish can be spooned over the filets before serving and can also be used as a great pick me up to any butter based sauce.)

Ingredients For Lemon Garlic Linguine

1 box of your favorite linguine

3 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of one lemon

3 tbsp jarred pesto, we like Barilla

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Half a 10 oz bag of baby spinach

2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

1 tbsp olive oil

Zest from lemon

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

Cook linguine in salty water until just under al dente. Usually 2 mins less than the recommended time featured on the packaging. Drain and rinse and set aside

1. Sauté garlic in olive oil over medium high heat in a large 12” pan for a minute, or until fragrant.

2. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of jarred pesto to pan and cook 30 seconds.

3. Add cooked linguine to pesto and garlic and toss to coat.

4. Add lemon juice and toss again

5. Add Parmesan cheese continue work ingredients through the pasta evenly

6. Cut heat fold in the baby spinach. The remaining heat should wilt the spinach, but you can use low heat if your pan cools quickly

7. Sprinkle with parsley and lemon zest, then turn onto large serving platter.

Note: Taste a piece of pasta to check for acidity. You may like to add more lemon juice. Capers would be a great addition as well.

4850 Gautier Vancleave Road

Gautier, MS 39553 228-205-3964

Outfitters

Inshore & Offshore Tackle

Apparel

Rod&Reel Repair

Coastal Floundering Lights

Gator Hooks

Calcutta Sunglasses

XtraTuf Boots

Weekdays 10am-6pm

Saturdays 8am-4pm

215B Pass Road

Gulfport, MS 39507

228-284-2560

Outfitters

Inshore & Offshore Tackle

Apparel

Rod&Reel Repair

Coastal Floundering Lights

Gator Hooks

Calcutta Sunglasses

XtraTuf Boots

Tackle Bags

Weekdays 10am-6pm

Saturdays 8am-4pm ecently on a fishing trip to the Tombigbee River with a good friend, we were pursuing a fishery that is often overlooked in summertime: crappie. There are a lot of people who believe that crappie fishing is mainly a spring and fall fishery, however, summer can produce some of the most consistent bites you’ll find all year. Here’s how I’ll break down water when fishing a new location, or a favorite location I haven’t visited in a while.

First, I will use my side scan to locate stumps, lay downs, and brush piles and mark them on the GPS. Second, since my boat is equipped with forward facing sonar, I always circle back and check them again whether I saw fish or not on the side scan. Next, I’ll use the forward facing sonar to check lay downs and stumps on inside bends of the main river system as well as eddys. I’m usually looking in 8 to 20 feet of water. Forward facing sonar is also a fantastic tool to chase open water crappie that aren’t on structure. On the recent Tombigbee trip we found our better fish in open water suspended out in 5 to 7 foot deep in 14 feet of water.

As far as tackle and gear I use a variety of rod lengths. I have everything from a 5 foot dock shooter all the way to a 13 foot rod I use to drop a bait directly down on a fish. My preferred approach is casting. We used a combination of a 6’ 6” casting rods as well as a 9’ rod with a 1/16 or 1/32 oz Delta Jig Co. hair jig with 4lb test and tied with a loop knot to catch our crappie on the recent Tombigbee River trip. If the fish are a little finicky and deeper I will use a 9 foot rod with a 1/32 oz jig with a small split shot above